Method and apparatus for automatically selecting plants and for automatically arranging planting groups

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically selecting plants according to various criteria and / or for automatically working out a plant selection for planting groups. It is here intended that basic questions including questions on location and properties are submitted from a memory in a first step. On the basis of the answers to said selection questions, a planting proposal is worked out by means of a computing unit. Location criteria and plant features are taken into account, as well as availability criteria and accessory data. The planting proposal is automatically output with the help of output means, the result including purchase lists, order lists and / or plant information (FIG. 1).

Description

[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 of German Patent Application No. 100 52 454.0, filed on Oct. 23, 2000.[0002] 1. Field of the Invention[0003] The present invention relates to an apparatus and to a method for automatically selecting plants or for working out planting proposals.[0004] 2. Discussion of Background Information[0005] The prior art already discloses a very great variety of publications regarding plant selection, garden design, arrangement of plants, etc. These constitute, on the one hand, literature dealing with esthetic aspects and design work and the arrangement of gardens, garden beds, houseplant configurations, or the like. Another large field of publications describes plants with respect to their characteristics, such as floral structure, flower color, height of growth, or the like, such descriptions being most of the time present in the form of so-called plant portraits.[0006] When preparing a planting measure, a layman is thu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022] In a further advantageous development of the method, it is intended that compatibility data of the plants are taken into account in the automatic selection of the plants. Preferably, flower color, height of growth, flowering period, floral structures, leaf size, form of growth, water consumption and / or nutrient consumption are here taken into account. This avoids a situation where the plants are arranged in a mutual configuration such that they would e.g. overgrow one another, where some plants would need much more water or nutrients, or the plants would be no match with respect to flower color or floral structure. On the other hand, it can be shown how the plants have a mutual positive effect on one another. Hence, it is automatically achieved that the selected plant arrangement in its entirety harmonizes under botanical, horticultural and esthetic aspects.

Problems solved by technology

When preparing a planting measure, a layman is thus faced with the problem that he must take into account a host of individual factors and publications to find his desired plants.

As soon as he got some idea as to how his planting project should look like, the difficulty arises that the plants must be checked as to whether it makes sense to combine them under botanical and horticultural aspects and whether they can be arranged in an attractive way.

When the user is visiting a horticultural enterprise, such as a garden center, a nursery, a DIY superstore with a horticultural department, or the like, he is most of the time left alone with his problems at those places as well, or he must ask for information in a troublesome way.

Even with a careful preparation, the result is mostly by chance and not optimum in most cases.

This system, however, does not offer any possibilities of selecting plants.

However, it can also be queried whether the plants desired by the user are to be tolerated by children and / or animals, whether they are suited with respect to their toxic or their allergic effect, whether they can be prickly or thorny, whether they must meet Feng Shui or esoteric requirements, and / or whether there are limitations with respect to the purchasing costs and the life span of the plants.

In addition, a time-consuming and troublesome search in a host of publications is not necessary.

Images